Homemade Honey Roasted Peanut Butter

Hey guys! Today marks the first day of my unofficial “back to school recipe week” on Life Made Simple. I’m super excited to share some kid-friendly recipes with you… and I’m starting with my favorite: homemade peanut butter.

A few months ago my mom gave me her food processor and it’s been life-changing. It was right around the time when our youngest started solids, and I can’t tell you how amazing it was to use a quality processor that could actually make silky smooth purees. You’ve probably noticed how often I use it, I tend to take quite a few process pictures and it’s somehow always front and center. But that’s because I really love it & use it all of the time! It may or may not be my new favorite kitchen appliance (don’t tell my KitchenAid).

For this particular recipe you will need a food processor. A high-powered processor, preferably one that can hold at least 3 cups (or you’ll have to do batches). I’ll tell you right now, unless you own a Blendtec, Ninja or Vitamix, you cannot make peanut butter in a blender. PLEASE don’t try. With that said, you’ll start by tossing 2 cups of roasted peanuts into the food processor. I used roasted salted, unsalted is fine too. Turn the processor on and let it go for 4 minutes.

The peanuts will turn into a crumbly meal. Go ahead and stop your processor and add the honey and salt. I prefer mine on the sweeter and saltier side, so I added 2 tablespoons of honey and a pinch of sea salt, feel free to add as little or as much as you’d like. I’d suggest starting with the amount stated below, then added more at the very end.

Turn the processor on and let it do it’s thing for another minute or two. The mixture will go from a ball to a smooth, creamy peanut butter. That’s exactly what you want! I didn’t and any oil to mine (I prefer mine to be on the thick side) because it was already the perfect consistency. Use a spatula to scrape it out and store it in an air-tight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 month… or if you’re anything like me, eat it right away and store it later!

Our family loves this simple & delicious homemade peanut butter. It’s made with wholesome ingredients (no refined sugar or funky oils) and can be made in a hurry. This is our go-to recipe! If you prefer the taste of store-bought peanut butter, try using honey roasted peanuts in place of the dry roasted peanuts. It definitely won’t be as healthy, but it will taste just like the kind from the jar :)

This homemade honey roasted peanut butter only takes 5 minutes to make! All you need is 3 simple ingredients and a food processor.

Author: Natalie

Yield: about 1¼ cups

Ingredients

2 c. dry roasted peanuts (salted or unsalted)

2 tbsp. honey or 1 tbsp. agave

pinch kosher sea salt (optional)

Directions

Place the peanuts in a food processor. Turn the food processor on and let it run for about 4 minutes. The peanuts will go from crumbs (pictured above) to a ball, then to a creamy peanut butter.

Turn off the food processor, add the honey (or agave) and salt (if using unsalted I'd suggest tasting the peanut butter and adding salt to taste). Continue to process for 1-2 minutes until combined.

Place in an air-tight container and store in the refrigerator for up to 4 weeks.

Notes

-You can use honey roasted peanuts, just simply omit or reduce the honey or agave. Skip the pinch of salt completely.-If you have raw peanuts, simply bake them for 10 minutes at 350 degrees, let them cool before adding them to your food processor.-If you find your peanut butter is too thick, you can add a ½ tsp. of coconut oil. However, only do this after the 5-6 minutes. You'll be surprised by the texture after the full amount of time. Please note that a quality food processor makes all of the difference!-For chunky peanut butter, simply chop up an additional ¼ cup of dry roasted peanuts and fold them in before storing the peanut butter.-I store my peanut butter in the fridge because I don't want it to go rancid, especially during the summer. I simply remove it from the fridge 20 minutes before I plan on using it.